On the Other Side of the Water
by Lauren-kun
Summary: When Camryn was eight years old, her twin brother Andrew was taken from their town to become an Exorcist. After five years of searching for the mysterious Black Order, she meets a Finder named Toma who says she has the potential to join the Science Division. With her hope renewed, she is determined to bring her brother home. OCxCharacter (T for language)
1. Prologue

They came to save our town. I can still remember the terrible blizzard that brought them. Crops wouldn't grow. Farm animals starved and died off, leaving the people with absolutely nothing to eat. It lasted for months, killing, killing, killing. Finally, they took notice of us, and how strange it was that blizzards were happening in southern California.

I remember sitting by the window with Andrew, my twin brother. His gray eyes watched the snow fall and hit the glass, his face missing the chubbiness that should accompany every six-year-old. I held his bony hand in mine, struggling to see through the whiteness. We each had several layers of clothes on; my family, along with everyone else, couldn't afford heat. We could see each breath we took, like our own personal cloud. And even though life was hell, my family was whole, so I knew we could pull through.

A year in and almost two thirds of the village had died. My dad, in an effort to find a job, decided to walk to the nearest town. I remember the day he left. My mom cried, and Andrew and I wouldn't let go of his legs. It took him a while, but eventually he peeled us off and left, his long turncoat snapping in the win. That was the last time I saw him.

When my brother and I were about eight they finally came. When I saw their long black coats I thought it was my dad, but as they neared I could see the differences. Silver gleamed on their chests, making them look like gems in the white terrain. They said they were Exorcists, from a mysterious place called the Black Order. They said they could help us.

They took my brother away.

As they explained to us after they had banished the storm, we had apparently been polluting the lake in the center of the town that had Innocence in the water. You see, before the storm came we were a mining town. Not the awful work-the-people-to-death kind. The boss actually cared about it's workers, but it was a mining town nonetheless. Which meant we weren't the most environmentally minded place or people.

The Innocence, according to them, got "mad," causing the weather to change so that it could protect itself within the ice. When they got the Innocence out of the lake, the blizzard stopped and the air immediately warmed. Andrew and I ran outside for the first time in months. It felt so nice to breathe fresh, warm, summer air. As we were racing around, we ran full-force into one of the Exorcists.

The Innocence flew into the air, hitting Andrew in the chest. As it turned out, Andrew is something called an "Accommodator," meaning the Innocence could synchronize with him. After that he became very sick.

My mother and I stayed in Andrew's hospital room day and night. Soon, much to our despair, the Exorcists came. They told us that they were leaving, and that they were taking Andrew with them. Despite our best efforts, the next day he was gone.

Seven years pasted. I searched the country, but the Black Order only appeared in vague articles or in even less informational personal accounts. It seemed like it was a legend; that is, until I met a Finder named Toma who said I have the potential to join the Science Division.

Now I know what I have to do. I will join the Black Order and do whatever it takes to get my brother back.

Get ready Exorcists, here I come.

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**Hello readers! **

**I hope you enjoyed the prologue. I will (hopefully) be posting pretty regularly, but school might get in the way. **

**In case you haven't read my other story, I just have one thing to tell you: The way I update is somewhat strange. I post sections of chapters instead of whole chapters. To notify you of this, I usually put something along the lines of "This isn't the end of the chapter!" at the bottom. For the prologue, I decided to post it whole, so this actually is the end of it. I just wanted to give everyone a heads up.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~Lauren-kun**

**P.S. If you are a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, please read my other story! It's called _When Things Go Boom: The Story of Another Destroyer. _Thanks again!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I wanted to thank everyone who had read so far. Hopefully, it is intreasting enough to continue! ~Lauren-kun**

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"Toma, are you okay?" I studied the man's face, trying to read the little bit I could see. For some reason, he kept the lower half of his face wrapped in white bandages, including most of his nose. Briefly, I wondered if it interfered with his breathing, but dismissed the thought after a moment. He seemed to be physically comfortable, if a little jittery sometimes.

A hood covered his head, turning into a long coat. It was all tan, with four zippers on the chest. Because of that coat, I could barely see the Finder, except for his hands and the half of his face.

He looked up from his lap, where he had been fiddling with his hands. When we first had gotten on the train, he had studied some paperwork, but had apparently finished early. Without anything else to do, he had leaned his elbows on his knees, his eyes faraway.

My words seemed to startle him out of whatever trance he had been in, causing him to look up was glassy, unfocused eyes. After a moment he blinked, and smiled.

"Oh, I'm fine; just a little disheartened. No Innocence was found...not that I really thought any would be."

"Is that why you were in Santa Fe?" I asked, quickly flicking a glance out the window. Dark gray clouds towered over the blank landscape. I sighed silently, wishing I was outside, rather than cooped up in the small train compartment.

He nodded, but didn't elaborate. I waited, staring at him, but he didn't seem to think the topic was important. Having lost interest I returned to the window, my gray eyes flicking back and forth with every object we passed. I had so many questions, but Toma had politely denied me any substantial answers. Before I could know anything about the Black Order I had to actually join the Science Division.

Which made me nervous. What if I wasn't good enough? Sure, I was good with my hands and I could fix almost anything, but I had no idea what amazing technology the Black Order might have; not to mention I was good at _engineering, _not science. After coming so close to finally seeing Andrew again, it would be a devastating blow to simply be sent packing.

"So, what exactly does this Science Division do?" I asked.

"I've already told you all I can, Miss Alton-"

"My name's Carmen."

He nodded, but I doubted anything would change. He seemed to cling to being as polite as possible, which had never really settled well with me. I mean, manners are nice and all, but they make people come off as fake.

"The Science Division specializes in advancing the research and development of Innocence, as well as making improvements in equipment to better serve the Exorcists. " He said his explanation like a definition, each word precise with no hesitations.

"Yeah, but what does that _mean_?" I held up my hands for emphasis. He had been giving me the same vague answers ever since I knew him. Granted, it hasn't been that long as I met him the day before yesterday, but I needed answers I could count on.

"That's all I can tell you, at least for now. The Black Order is very secretive, and it needs to stay that way. Before we can tell you anything more about it, we must make sure you are neither a Noah or an Akuma." He smiled at me again through his bandages, and I could sense that it was sincere, but it did nothing to console me.

"I don't even know what those things are," I replied, crossing my arms.

"If you become part of the Science Division they will tell you." Tomas voice was kind, but it did little to help my frustration. Taking a deep breath, I tried to let my annoyance slip away. Snapping at Toma wouldn't help my chances of getting into the Order, and ha wasn't the one to be angry at. After all, it was the Order that took Andrew away; Toma was trying to help me. Suddenly, I felt guilt creeping into my gut for pressing him so hard.

"Thank you, Toma. I really appreciate you helping me."

At this he sat up, his kind eyes shining. "My pleasure. It's nice to have some company; usually it's just me. And it's not common find someone so apt for the Science Division. I'm sure they'll appreciate the extra help."

"How do you know I'm good enough?" The honesty in my own voice surprised me. If he thought I could make it I could put my doubts aside.

"Well I con't know for sure, but I talked to your landlady while you were packing. She told me how much help you were with keeping her hotel running." He smiled again, encouragement in his voice.

I let his words sink in for a moment while I looked outside. Mrs. Dobom was a small old lady with gray hair and dark eyes who had almost been family to me for the last year and a half. When I first met her I was thirteen. I was tired from constantly traveling, and had started to doze in her lobby. I was just drifting off when the sound of her boiler exploding woke me up. Before I knew what I was doing, I raced around until I found the basement door, toolbox in hand. After I had fixed it Mrs. Dodom came in, and a deal was struck. I could like in her hotel as long as I repaired anything that broke. Briefly, I smiled at the memory, making a pleage that somehow I would thanks her.

I still had that same old toolbox, although I kept my tools up to date. I always knew I had a knack for fixing things, and I learned early on in my travels that being repairman could keep me alive.

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**This is NOT the end of this chapter! I just wanted to add on ASAP, so here it is! ~Lauren-kun**


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